Today in history: November 21
In 1989, President Bush nixed smoking on most domestic flights
Nov. 20, 1864. President Lincoln reportedly wrote a letter of condolence to Lydia Bixby, who claimed to have lost five sons in the Civil War. Ironically, Mrs. Bixby herself was said to have supported the Confederacy, and records show that two — not five — of her sons died. Scholars have never been able to prove conclusively that Lincoln wrote the letter, which was portrayed in Saving Private Ryan. Many Lincoln experts believe he did, though others say his secretary John Hay was the author. In any case, here it is:
Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Nov. 20, 1973: President Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the presence of an 18-minute gap in a White House tape recording related to Watergate
Nov. 20, 1989: A bill banning smoking on most domestic flights was signed into law by President Bush.
Quote of the Day
"The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency." — Theodore Roosevelt
More from West Wing Reports...
-
The ultimate films of 2024 by genre
From the Magazine In a year dominated by sequels, here are the releases that impressed the critics, from Hollywoodgate and Twisters to Poor Things and Atomic People
By The Week UK Published
-
The big art stories of 2024
In depth From the rediscovery of a long-lost painting and the year's highest sale price to the artwork eaten by its new owner
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 29, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published